Pipe bowl reamer



June 21, 1966 P. J. KATT 3,256,891

PIPE BOWL REAMER Filed Dec. 11, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. PAUL J.KATT ATTORNEY June 21, 1966 P. J. KATT PIPE BOWL REAMER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 11, 1963 IN VENTOR *0 J L w P 3,256,891 PIPE BOWL REAMER PaulJ. Katt, Sun Prairie, Wis, assignor to New Products Enterprises, SunPrairie, Wis, a corporation of Wiscousin Filed Dec. 11, 1963, Ser. No.329,701 2 Claims. (Cl. 131-246) This invention relates to a pipe bowlcleaner or reamer and more particularly to such a device comprising twointerlaced loops of spring steel.

The invention represents an improvement upon the de vices shown anddescribed in United States Patents 867,- 885, 1,117,236 and 2,086,738.

It is an object of the device to provide an improved pipe bowl cleaneror reamer.

It is another object to provide such a reamer or cleaner in which twoloops of spring steel are provided and wherein the respective lengthsand the respective'widths ofthe loops may be varied at will.

Other objects will become apparent from the drawings and from thefollowing detailed description in which it is intended to illustrate theapplicability of the invention without thereby limiting its scope toless than that at all equivalents which will be apparent to one skilledin the art, In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like partsand:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the longi tudinal axis ofthe embodiment of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on lines 33 in FIGURE 2 withparts 2 and 3 omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of an embodiment ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the device of the invention in usein a pipe bowl in one manner;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of the device of the invention in usein the pipe bowl in another manner;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another manner of use.

Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the device indicated generally as 1comprises elongated loops 2 and 3 of spring steel interlaced orinterlocked so that their outer or lower ends at 4 and 5 are near eachother or may be in contact with each other. The ends 2' and 3'respectively of loops 2 and 3 are received in outer handle member 6 andare provided respectively with outwardly extending portions 8 and 9which are received on shoulder portions 10 of handle member 6. Handlemember 6 is prefenably made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene,polystyrene, cellulose acetate or the like, and at its lower end, i.e.,the end 13 nearest loop tips 4 and 5, it is provided with an openingindicated as 11 through which loops 2 and 3 pass. Opening 11 ispreferably square or rectangular near shoulder 10 as shown, and isprovided with ramps 12 which guide extending portions 8 and 9 into placeas the loops are inserted into member 6 so that at the end 13 of member6 opening 11 has a cuneiform shape as shown, whereby rotation of loops 2and 3 with respect to the handle is prevented.

Adjacent end 13 there is provided, as a critical element of theinvention, metal member 14 wihch may have any suitable shape such asthat of a circle or polygon at its outer periphery 15 and which engagesthe outer surfaces of loops 2 anad 3 at its inner periphery 16 which maybe circular in form but is preferably square or is cuneiform and of thesame size and shape as opening 11 in end 13. Member 14 is retained inplace by the outward spring biasing action of the metal of loops 2 and 3and is thereby maintained adjacent to end 13 of member 6 except when Inuse.

vUnited States Patent 0 For use it is slidably moveable downward on3,256,891 Patented June 21, 1966 ice blades 2 and 3 to cause theeffective length and shape of blades or loops 2 and 3 to be changed asdescribed more fully hereinafter. If desired, the end of member 6 whichis opposite end 13 may be solid, but if desired it may have an openingtherein as shown into which there may be inserted member 18 which may beheld in place by adhesive 19. The outer end 20 of member 18 may bespheroidal as shown for the sake of appearance or may have any otherdecorative form desired.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is shown a modification wherein bladesor loops 2' and 3 and member 14 are like those'of the embodiment ofFIGURES 1 to 3, and wherein end 13 of handle member 33 may have ramps 12and opening 11 of cuneiform shape, just as in the embodiments of FIGURES1, 2 and 3. The other end of handle member 26 may have a different formand may be provided with internal threads 27 into which there may bethreadedly inserted and engaged top member 28 which may have a lower end29 which extends downwardly into nearly abutting or engaging relationwith extending portions 8 and 9 to hold blades 2 and 3 into place andprevent upward displacement past end '29 of portions 8 and 9 whenpressure is exerted against loops 2 and 3, for example, at tips 4 and 5.

Advantages and operation The lengths of the loops are slightly differentand the shapes of the loops therefore differ slightly by reason of ends4 and 5 not being quite, the same distance from handle meniber 6 or 27.The device therefore readily conforms to a wide variety of shapes ofpipe bowls.

Thus, the action of tip 5 of loop 2 may be utilized to clean the bottomof a pipe bowl while the sides of loop 3 clean the sides of the bowl andthe portion of loop 3 at tip 4 is substantially inactive.

The ends 2' and 3' of loops 2 and 3 are adjacent each other as shown,and therefore the loops react more readily to downward pressure exertedon the handle member so that they more readily extend outward in theirnormal position as indicated by dotted lines 30 in FIG- URE 5 to theposition indicated in solid lines at 31 in FIGURE 5 to clean therelatively large bowl of pipe 32 of FIGURE 5.

Such action is made possible by the structural characteristics ofproviding the device with the free ends of the loops adjacent each otherand providing substantially fiat cross-sectional configuration of thestrip of which the loops are made throughout, that is, an absence ofreinforcement such as would prevent the loops from freely flexing andproviding ramp portions 12 whereby torsional force may be applied to theloops over a long span by shoulders 12 of ramp portions 12 but the loopsare allowed to flex in the manner indicated by dotted lines 33 in FIGURE4 within the handle portion. Thus, a

portion of each loop is thoroughly gripped by the handle portion toexert force on loops 2 and 3 in one direction and prevent fiexure of theloops in this direction while at the same time the same loop portionsare only loosely held in a direction at to the first, to permit flexureof these loop portions in the direction necessary to provide the flexureindicated by lines 31 in FIGURE 5.

By sliding metal member 14 downward on the blades, the blade or loopshape may be changed from that shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4 and indicatedby dotted lines 40 in FIGURE 6 to a narrower shorter configuration asindicated by full lines 41 in FIGURE 6 whereby a relatively small bowl43 of pipe 44 may be properly cleaned as shown in FIGURE 6.

By the combined use of downward pressure exerted on handle member 6 or27, and the operation of sliding meta-l member 14 downwardly on blades 2and 3. As shown in FIGURE 7, the blades may be caused to have the formshown in solid lines 51 instead of the form which they normally have asshown in dotted lines 52 so that the bottom portion of the cake which isformed inthe bowl by the use of a pipe such as pipe 53, is cut away onlyat the bottom portion indicated at 54 and cake 55 is left at the upperportion in order to leave a relatively small opening 56 at the top ofthe bowl. By thus keeping the top of the bowl narrow, ashes areprevented from falling from the pipe when it is used and it is madepossible to more readily operate the pipe in a high Wind or even operateit upside down as in a rain.

Thus the device of the invention makes it possible to fully control theamount of cutting and the shape of cavity which is cut in a bowl withthe device, in order to make possible the most efficient cleaner orreaming of pipe bowls of varying shapes and in order to make it possibleto create cavities of various desired shapes within the cake which isformed Within the bowl of a pipe. It may thus be seen that the inventionis broad in scope and includes such modifications as will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and is to be limited only by the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. A pipe bowl cleanercomprising a handle and two loops of spring steel,

said handle being provided with a socket, said socket beingcross-shaped, said shape being provided by four grooves, each groovehaving two lateral walls, said loops each comprising two blades, eachblade extending into said socket in said handle and having an endreceived in said handle, said blades beingreceived in said cross shapedsocket, such that rotation of said handle causes similar rotation ofeach blade through pressure applied at one edge of each blade by alateral wall of each of said grooves,

each end of each blade having a radially outwardly extending portion,

the blades being fixed in the handle at said end portions and supportedonly at said radially extending portions and only within the interior ofthe length of the handle,

said blades being merely braced at the portions of the blades adjacentthe ends,

so that blades are received in said grooves to provide for unhinderedradially inward movement of said blades in said grooves and adapted foropposite flexing of said blades at the p01- tions of the blades adjacentthe ends with respect to the direction of flexing of the portions of theblades received most deeply in a pipe bowl.

2. The device of claim 1 provided with a washer slidable on said loopsto change the configuration of said loops, said washer having a centralaperture for receiving said blades.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,510,499 10/1924 Pfabe 131--246 1,651,593 12/1927 Goldstein 131-246 2,086,738 7/1937Possinger 131246 2,248,224 7/ 1941 Fernberg 24-213 2,703,428 3/ 1955Redmond et al. 24-213 FOREIGN PATENTS 68,972 4/ 1949 Denmark.

9,119 6/ 1887 Great Britain. 581,612 10/ 1946 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Examiner.

1. A PIPE BOWL CLEANER COMPRISING A HANDLE AND TWO LOOPS OF SPRINGSTEEL, SAID HANDLE BEING PROVIDED WITH A SOCKET, SAID SOCKET BEINGCROSS-SHAPED, SAID SHAPE BEING PROVIDED BY FOUR GROOVES, EACH GROOVEHAVING TWO LATERAL WALLS, SAID LOOPS EACH COMPRISING TWO BLADES, EACHBLADE EXTENDING INTO SAID SOCKET IN SAID HANDLE AND HAVING AN ENDRECEIVED IN SAID HANDLE, SAID BLADES BEING RECEIVED IN SAID CROSS SHAPEDSOCKET, SUCH THAT ROTATION OF SAID HANDLE CAUSES SIMILAR ROTATION OFEACH BLADE THROUGH PRESSURE APPLIED AT ONE EDGE OF EACH BLADE BY ALATERAL WALL OF EACH OF SAID GROOVES, EACH END OF EACH BLADE HAVING ARADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING PORTION, THE BLADES BEING FIXED IN THEHANDLE AT SAID END PORTIONS AND SUPPORTED ONLY AT SAID RADIALLYEXTENDING PORTIONS AND ONLY WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE LENGTH OF THEHANDLE, SAID BLADES BEING MERELY BRACED AT THE PORTIONS OF THE BLADESADJACENT THE ENDS, SO THAT BLADES ARE RECEIVED IN SAID GROOVES TOPROVIDE FOR UNHINDERED RADIALLY INWAND MOVEMNT OF SAID BLADES IN SAIDGROOVES AND ADAPTED FOR OPPOSITE FLEXING OF SAID BLADES AT THE PORTIONSOF THE BLADES ADJACENT THE ENDS WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF FLEXINGOF THE PORTIONS OF THE BLADES RECEIVED MOST DEEPLY IN A PIPE BOWL.